Chapter 14: The Mirage

The One Who Leaves—She had the chance to be my mother again. And still, she dragged her feet.

*Audio player is located at the end of the chapter. Scroll down to play.

We were making our way toward The Mirage at a slow crawl. We’d moved beyond the outskirts of Vegas and all of its vacant warehouses and insignificant landscape to the seedy and disenchanted life of The Strip. The sun hung low in the sky, but not low enough to bring out the stars and wake up the shimmering lights of the casinos. In the daylight, without the awe and glamour of her bright lights, the Strip looked rundown and forgotten, like a broken carnival ride.